


Runaway

by honestgrins



Series: To Rely on the Kindness of Strangers [26]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Day Two - Butterfly Effect, F/M, klarolineauweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-12
Updated: 2016-04-12
Packaged: 2018-06-01 19:49:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6534079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestgrins/pseuds/honestgrins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>SEASON 3 FINALE - "TYLER" AND CAROLINE RUN AWAY FROM THE COUNCIL</p>
            </blockquote>





	Runaway

"You have a beautiful future ahead of you," he said, her tears affecting him more than he thought they ever could.

"I'm not leaving without you," she insisted. "Tyler, please."

Swallowing his distaste, Klaus shook his head. "You have to go, Care," he forced himself to say. "You still have a whole world out there to see."

Tears streaming down her face, Caroline gripped his shoulders tightly. "Maybe I do," she admitted in a croak. "But you shouldn't be alone, no one should be alone in their final moments."

His heart ached, but he needed her to leave. Before Klaus could protest, though, Caroline pulled him into a bone crushing hug. She laid kisses wherever she could reach, crying the whole time.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, over and over.

Feeling weak in his knees, Klaus led them toward a wall and slid down to a sitting position. Caroline curled into his lap, and he instantly wrapped his arms around her. Nearly an hour passed before she stirred again, moving away in utter confusion.

"Y-you," she stammered. "You're not dead."

Struggling to come up with any explanation, Klaus remained silent and hoped for Caroline to fill the quiet cellar.

"Tyler," she whispered, stroking his face.

Klaus flinched, surprising Caroline.

Leaning away from him, she tried to decipher the wary look he gave her. "You're hiding something," she accused softly, more confused and hurt than anything else. "Tell me."

"Sweetheart," he tried, only to clench his fists as she shot out of his lap.

"You don't call me sweetheart," she said, her eyebrows furrowing together. "And you somehow aren't dead, even though Klaus is."

Like a train crash, Klaus couldn't look away from Caroline as she processed the information. She truly was smarter than most gave her credit for, and Klaus was helpless to do anything but wait for her inevitable conclusions.

"Damon said Klaus was dead," Caroline said, almost examining Tyler's cool expression. Too cool. "So how are you still here?"

Sighing, Klaus stood and held out his hands defensively. "Love-"

"Stop it," Caroline whispered, horrorstruck. "This is just a terrible joke, and my boyfriend's body wasn't hijacked by the creep trying to get into my pants."

"It's my fault," Bonnie broke in, entering the cellar. "Caroline, I'm so sorry, but it was the only way I could save everyone."

"Bonnie," Caroline cried. "Is Tyler-"

"He's fine, love," Klaus sighed, putting his hands in his pockets.

Caroline held up a threatening hand, using the other to wipe frustrated tears from her face. "I'm asking Bonnie," she hissed. "And I'd be a lot more comfortable if you didn't talk."

"Tyler is fine," Bonnie promised. "He's dormant, for lack of a better explanation. I did a spell to move Klaus's consciousness in case Alaric was able to stake him. It might take me a while, but I can heal Klaus's body enough to move him back."

"A while," Caroline asked, incredulous. "What's a while, Bonnie? The Council has a hit out on me and Tyler, so it's not like we can stay here until Klaus's body isn't all gross."

Cringing at the inelegant dig, Klaus stepped forward. "Then we go," he offered. "Anywhere you want."

"I cannot begin to list all the reasons that won't fly," she answered venomously. "I just want my boyfriend back."

"Caroline, you need to leave town now," Bonnie reasoned. "I'll keep you posted on the spell and the Council, but for your own safety, you need to go now. And you know Klaus should go with you."

Caroline wanted to protest, but Bonnie cut her off.

"Even if making sure Tyler's body stays safe is irrelevant, and it's not," Bonnie pointed out, "I would feel much better if you weren't on the run by yourself. He has a thousand years of experience, and I know he'll keep you safe."

She was shaking her head, refusing to accept her friend's logic. "Bonnie, I can't-"

"Caroline," Klaus interrupted, finally feeling some sense of normalcy at her annoyed glare. "I promise that you will be safe, and this will only be temporary. You can yell at me all you want on the way, but we need to go."

Pursing her lips, Caroline narrowed her eyes as she mulled the offer. "Fine," she huffed. "But you do _not_ talk unless it's absolutely necessary. This is super creepy, and you know it."

"Point taken," Klaus said. Turning to Bonnie, he was much less amenable. "Call the instant the spell is viable."

Bonnie nodded, glancing at Caroline before rushing the blonde for a hug. "I am sorry, Care," she whispered.

Rolling her eyes, Caroline squeezed Bonnie hard. "I know," she sighed. "Thank you for saving us." She too another moment before releasing her friend and glaring at Klaus.

"Let's go."

* * *

It took some maneuvering, but Klaus was able to enlist the family's private jet in his borrowed body. Even more impressive was the fact he was able to log the flight plan without his siblings' knowledge or interference.

While he had hoped his first trip with Caroline would have been under better circumstances, Klaus still felt a certain thrill having her on the jet. Despite her crossed arms and obvious irritation, curiosity still sparkled in her eyes as they flit around to take in her luxurious surroundings.

She had stubbornly maintained a silent treatment since leaving the Lockwood cellar. Klaus was surprised she had kept it up, it had been hours already. Knowing Tyler's voice saying his words made her uncomfortable, though, he needed another means of communication.

He spotted one of his sketchbooks tucked in one of the seat baskets, which triggered an idea. Refusing to broach her cone of silence, Klaus hoped to draw her out instead.

Settling himself on a lounge chair facing Caroline, he turned to a fresh page in the sketchbook.

* * *

She squirmed in her seat, the ridiculously plush leather couch so dissonant from everything she ever expected from her first plane ride. Just months earlier, she had laughed in his face at the outrageous offer to go anywhere she wanted - Rome, Paris, Tokyo.

Sinking her socked feet into the plush red carpet, she felt the urge to laugh hysterically. All it took was a murderous vampire hunter and a body swap for Klaus to get exactly what he wanted.

Of course, her only distraction would be the Original asshole himself - boyfriend meat suit aside. He was studiously sketching in a fancy, leather-bound book. She almost didn't notice his hands were moving at vampire speed, but she realized he was flipping pages, too. How many sketches was he making?

Caroline fought her curiosity, forcing herself to look at anything else. She turned to the window, watching the various workers go about their business on the tarmac. When one pulled out some lighted batons to guide the plane to the runway, it finally hit her: Caroline Forbes was going to fly for the first time.

Just like that, the plane started to move.

"Miss," one of the attendants called to her. "If you would, please move into one of the standard seats for take-off. I'll be back with champagne when you're free to move about the cabin."

"Thank you," Caroline whispered, not wanting to tear her eyes from the window. When the attendant's words sunk in, she found Tyler - Klaus - waiting for her in the indicated seats.

She rolled her eyes, walking past him to take the window seat. Buckling up, she resisted her nosy instinct to watch Klaus draw, for a while at least.

"What are you even drawing so fast," she finally burst out, bored of the airport activity.

Klaus's smirk looked odd on Tyler's face, and Caroline felt odd recognizing it.

He held up a finger, a universal call for patience Caroline didn't possess. She huffed in annoyance until Klaus flipped to the front page and held it up.

She froze, though she shouldn't have been surprised. It was her, arms crossed and expression defiant. She didn't want to laugh, but the comic book style he used was much different than what she expected. He even gave her a speech bubble to transcribe her rant. "You do not talk unless it's absolutely necessary," comic Caroline was saying.

Glancing up, Caroline found Tyler - Klaus - looking sheepish. A flash of understanding went through her. Though she had no desire to thank him in their current predicament, she did appreciate his consideration.

She sighed; she wouldn't be Caroline Forbes if she didn't make the best of a bad situation.

"Where are we going anyway," she asked, looking back out the window.

Flipping the page, Klaus smiled and placed the sketchbook in her hands.

She looked down, instinctively tracing the edge of the London skyline. "I've never been anywhere," she whispered, "and you're taking me across the ocean?"

She didn't want to meet his eyes when they weren't his eyes, and the jolt of the plane moving forward was thankfully enough to distract her. As the jet picked up speed, though, Caroline could feel a panic set in. She automatically reached for Klaus's - Tyler's hand.

Keeping a solid grip on her, Klaus used his other hand to flip the page again. This time, it was a picture of Stefan, saying, "Breathe." He dropped the book in her lap again.

Caroline let out a frantic giggle. "How do you even know about that?"

Shrugging, Klaus didn't have a sketch for that explanation.

She rolled her eyes. "Tell me," she implored. "Please?"

"When we were looking for werewolf packs," Klaus answered instantly, "Stefan would never talk about Damon or Elena. Too fresh a pain, apparently.

"One night, I asked him why he cared about the wolves so much when they turned," he said. "It seemed counter-intuitive for a vampire."

"No kidding," Caroline snorted, braving her anxiety to watch the plane actually take off. "Wolves and vamps don't mix, that's why Stefan even made that deal with you."

"I remember, love," he joked, swallowing back a grin at her chastising glare. "But he spoke of the support he wished he had when he turned, the kind he tried to give to you. The kind you gave to Tyler."

Caroline frowned, leaning away when she realized how close she had unconsciously gotten to Klaus. "Yeah," she coughed. "Sounds about right."

Klaus quieted, unsure how to lower her guards again. She almost seemed to be enjoying herself, which is all he wanted for her on this trip, other than her safety. As Caroline stared out the window, he couldn't help the feeling at how right she looked in his jet. "I am sorry you had to leave your home," he said softly.

Sighing, Caroline allowed herself a brief moment of weakness and leaned her head on Klaus's - Tyler's - shoulder as she kept her face focused on the clouds outside. "It won't be forever," she answered, resolute.

Honestly, that's what Klaus was afraid of.


End file.
